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Wednesday, 28 November 2001
Raffle prizes amounting to 100,000 Pesos and a chance to acquire ''OFW Bonds'' await the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) coming home for Christmas under the ''Pamaskong Handog sa OFWs'' annual program of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) which starts today, Nov. 28 and remains in effect up to Dec. 29, 2001.
Labor Secretary Patricia A. Sto. Tomas said that aside from raffle prizes and OFW Bonds, activities for the OFWs have been lined up at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) by the government, particularly the DoLE's Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), to make their homecoming as significant and warm as possible.
Sto. Tomas said similar activities are being prepared for execution in other Philippine international airports, possibly Cebu and Clark, should they also serve as entry points of vacationing OFWs. Some 100,000 OFWs are expected to come home for Christmas, she added.
No less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is expected to come around unannounced in some occasions to welcome the OFWs in recognition of their contributions to the nation, she said.
She said the Philippines will also launch the $100 million OFW Bonds to give the OFWs the opportunity to invest their hard-earned savings for the nation's good.
The government bond offering would give OFWs a practical and affordable way to boost their savings, Sto. Tomas indicated.
Sto. Tomas said the OFWs can acquire the bonds at $100 (about P5,000) each. As incentives, OFW bonds will earn interest and give the investors the opportunity to win valuable prizes.
Labor Undersecretary Manuel G. Imson indicated that the Philippine bond flotation signifies the tremendous importance the country places on its 7.3 million overseas workers.
Imson stressed that while the OFWs' hard-earned remittances have directly benefited their families, they have, in the process, helped the country against economically difficult times.
He stressed that Christmas activities paying tribute to OFWs would be linked up to a 2002 program pushed by President Arroyo to advance OFW protection and welfare.
Arroyo, through Presidential Proclamation No. 76, has declared 2002 as the "Year of the Overseas Employment" to honor the country's licensed recruitment agencies. (E. T. Suarez)
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